I'll be honest. I have a mother (it's true... I really didn't crawl out from under a rock) but I'm not an expert on why they call it Mother's Day. So, I took to the internet and compiled the following to share with you.
As with many of our holidays, Mother's Day has roots that can be traced to ancient Greek and Roman Culture (probably before even, but not well documented). Even though women did not have many civil rights and were largely confined to raising children in the home, there was great reverence for women. This is evidenced by the many female deities worshipped in these societies.
The earliest record of Motherhood celebrations can be traced all the way back to 250B.C., where the ancient Romans would celebrate a festival known as Hilaria.
"This springtime occasion took place to honour the mother goddess, Cybele, with event goers holding parties, playing games and presenting offerings at the temple. The occasion would last for three days, beginning on the Ides of March (the 15th)." Source
Truthfully, these days one may argue it's merely another commercialized holiday (reportedly earning in excess of 20 BILLION dollars per year) ...
...and long before that, the ire of the American "version" of the holiday's founder, Anna Jarvis. A story about how she was arrested for protesting against the holiday and its commercialization is here.
Anna is the daughter of Anna Reeves Jarvis, who along with several others acting parallel to her in the post- Civil War Era, worked on national reunification efforts in order to promote peace to our once shattered nation.
Mother's Day is celebrated in different forms and different times of year depending on the country.
I was going to post the list of different dates, but WOW. It's pretty long. Here's the list on wiki.
As many of you know, here in America it's often celebrated with family gatherings, brunches, lunches and dinners, and flowers. Some even book portrait sessions for their
mom to give them something they'll always cherish- their childrens' faces. Email me to book yours now. Limited spaces available.